HELP: ever hear of this?

[{JM}]

I'm looking into getting a Mandolin and I wanted to ask this, I could never stick with learning actual chords for an acoustic guitar because the neck bothered my hands. I actually got short fingers and small hands and for some reason a mandolin felt very good in my hands. Have you ever heard of this type of thing before?

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Café, JM. We actually get this reasonably often. The mandolin just seems to fit some people very well. Enjoy the site, ask questions, and get pickin'. I like the size and feel of the mandolin better than any other instrument I've held.

Jamie

[{JM}]

ok wanted to make sure if i was off my rocker buying something else.

[kjell]

I'm in your camp. I don't know if it's because I have small fingers or what. (I don't think they're that small…) I could never figure out guitar. Once I started with mandolin I loved it and haven't looked back. I'd say go try one out extensively at a music store and see whether it feels any better.

[{JM}]

when i was playing one in my shop and i felt good as i was pretending to do chord positions and it didn't feel like a hard spread when i did it for guitars.

[viv]

when i was playing one in my shop and i felt good as i was pretending to do chord positions and it didn't feel like a hard spread when i did it for guitars.

same for me....my fingers are on the short side, and i have a hard time reaching/stretching, even on the smaller neck of my Muse...but me lil mannalin works well with me lil fingerzezez.

[Geoff B]

Welcome to the cafe! Keep in mind that it will feel weird/difficult at first (as with many things) but with time and experience your fingers, and mind, will get used to it. Lots of stuff on mandolin doesn't require the stretches of a guitar, but almost as many things will actually be as long, or even longer, than on a guitar. Luckily you can start with the easier things and work your way up on the mandolin. The bottom line is to enjoy it, so good luck and keep at it!

[fredfrank]

The bluegrass chop chord is about the biggest spread you'll encounter. I actually use it less with each passing year. There are so many other ways to play each major chord.

[Timbofood]

Just remember it's one whale of a lot easier (and comfortable) to play a mandolin while in the front seat of a VW Beetle!
Sorry to hear you've been bitten by the bug, (sorry, bad pun) the intervention team here will make you as comfortable as possible. Have fun!

[ApK]

Don't in anyway read this to be a discouragement from learning mando.
If you like guitar, don't give up on guitar because of small hands.
There are a WIDE variety of guitars with different size and shape necks and fretboards, and with different scale lengths, and with a little guidance, you could almost certainly find a guitar that is totally comfortable for you.
By all means, learn mando, too, but don't think it's an either/or choice.

I have big hands and long fingers, and played guitar comfortably for several years before picking up a mando, and the mando still felt like it was asking me to do impossible hand contortions!
Chapter 1 of the first beginners mando DVD I got seems to require that I sprout two more fingers with two extra joints on each!

ApK

[{JM}]

hey thanks for the encouragement now that mandolin I am getting it this friday.

[Dave Harbst]

Not only do I have short fingers, but I also had an injury to my left hand(I'm right-handed)which makes the use of my little finger almost impossible. Unfortunately, I just can't make those big bluegrass chop chords(four fingers), but I still have a good time playing the two and three-finger chords. Don't be discouraged--just have a good time playing with whatever you can do. To me, the main thing is to have good timing and to hit the chord changes at the right time.

[Jim MacDaniel]

Besides potentially being a bettter fit for your hands, a mandolin is tuned in perfect fifths, which is far more intuitive that guitar tunings. Plus, a mandolin is far easier to carry around with you than a guitar, and several travel-style cases can fit into overhead storage bins on a plane.

(The downside: strangers and friends who are wondering what's in the mandolin case you are carrying, will more likely guess banjo or uke.)

[ApK]

a mandolin is tuned in perfect fifths, which is far more intuitive that guitar tunings.

Not the word I'd use. How intuitive is anything other than a piano keyboard, really?
But yes, while the mando is not any better for chords, as far as I can tell, the symmetry sure is nice. And I can't quite understand why melodies are easier in 5ths, but they sure seem to be so.

ApK

[Santiago]

There is also a family of mandolin instruments with different scales that may work well with people with different sized hands, such as the mandlin, mandola, mandocello and mandobass, among others.

I was frustrated by guitar scale for many years before discovering the mandolin.

[Dragonflyeye]

But yes, while the mando is not any better for chords, as far as I can tell, the symmetry sure is nice.

ApK

I'm only a year into this mando thing myself JM, and 3 things factored into my decision to go mando, not guitar: the sound (cool and different), the size of the neck and the symmetry, as ApK pointed out. Although I have large, relatively thin hands for a woman, and long fingers, my reach isn't tremendous. That's finally getting better (I try to do the bluegrass chord chop every day, along with a few other fretboard stretches), and the symmetry is helping me figure out chords and improvise in various keys. The fretboard's wonderful for chords and doublestops: "G" is always "north" of "C," and "B" is always "south" of "F#." There's consistency across many (most) directional aspects of the fretboard, which makes it an improviser's dream. I've had a bit of trouble with one fingertip impinging on an adjacent string - the downside of the compressed nature of the mando fretboard. But as I've built some ridgelike calouses, it's easier to be precise.

I'm excited for you, JM! Welcome to mandoworld!

[{JM}]

Hey I bought my mandolin today I will post a picture of it soon

[Dfyngravity]

I think for many people it is the chord structure. To me they just seem to feel comfortable. However, my friend who has fairly large hands had a pretty hard time getting a 4 finger G chord on a mandolin. He plays guitar, fairly well too, but he had trouble stretching and keeping that pinky up on the G string.

[{JM}]

Well I just did this without pain lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI8RmZp-pGk

[EdHanrahan]

... Plus, a mandolin is far easier to carry around ...

... and MUCH easier to stash in a closet, so that your wife may not notice that you just bought ANOTHER one of the danged things. The affliction is called M.A.S.; look it up here on the Cafe!

- Ed